– by Eddie Capparucci
When you were a child, were you afraid of the dark?
If you were one of those unlucky kids, I’m sure you remember how frightening it felt when the lights went out and you tried to focus on going to sleep. Sleep was the farthest thing from your mind.
Instead you were filled with thoughts of evil creatures and bad people you thought were lurking around your room.
As an adult, most likely you are no longer afraid of the dark. But whether we admit it or not, we still spent much of our lives living in darkness.
What does it look like to live in darkness?
When we hate, we live in darkness.
When we lack joy, we live in darkness.
When we promote disharmony, we live in darkness.
When we are frustrated or intolerant, we live in darkness.
When we are merciless, we live in darkness.
When we are spiteful or revengeful, we live in darkness.
When we betray or dishonor others, we live in darkness.
When we are harsh and uncompassionate, we live in darkness.
When we react hastily and are self-centered, we live in darkness.
But as His children, God calls us to come out of the darkness and walk toward His magnificent light.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
So, if I elect to remove myself from the darkness and move toward God’s light, what changes would I expect to see in myself? (Image via Pixabay)
For the answer, we must look no further than Galatians 5:22-23.
When we love, we live in the light.
When we experience joy, we live in the light.
When we bring peace, we live in the light.
When we demonstrate patience, we live in the light.
When we show kindness, we live in the light.
When we display goodness, we live in the light.
When we are faithful, we live in the light.
When we are gentle, we live in the light.
When we show self-control, we live in the light.
I will admit it’s not easy to live in the light 24/7. My self-centeredness and mentality of “I want what I want” gets in the way of living in the Spirit.
Choosing to live in the light is a daily commitment I must make as I continue along the path of picking up my cross each day and dying for Christ.
Some days I do it better than others. But many days I get pulled into acting upon worldly values instead of Spiritual values.
Success starts with taking time for self-reflection and asking God to help you examine your heart to see what is dark and needs correcting.
I dislike this exercise because it troubles me when I find darkness lying in my heart – and I always do – even though I realize that no matter how much I work on changing my heart, there will still be some darkness in it come Judgment Day.
Having the ability to walk in the light is one of God’s great blessings that we would be foolish not to pursue.
So, where in your life is it still dark?
This guest blog post was written by Eddie Capparucci.
Eddie is the author of Removing Your Shame Label.
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